Per LA Kings Insider, I really liked this Darryl Sutter quote on how goalie Martin Jones could possibly go undrafted: “I think there are lots of guys that do that. You know what, basically not everybody gets to see everybody, and a lot of times when they see these guys, [it’s] the third game they’ve played in three nights. It’s very different, right? Kids are traveling on the bus for 14 hours. You might not see ‘em. You see him one night, and he has a rough night. The next night he’s great, and you know what? There’s a lot more luck in it than anything.”

Note: Jones played for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen from 2006-10. Meaning he was playing junior hockey in the Saddledome for pretty much the entire time Sutter was the general manager of the Flames.

Saturday: Detroit at Toronto (7 p.m. ET)

Their first meeting of the season, and their last before the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. Both sides have been struggling of late. The Wings won their first in seven last night, barely beating Calgary, 3-2 in overtime. The Leafs, meanwhile, have just three regulation wins in their last 23 games. Yes, injuries have been a factor for both teams. And the Wings’ record would look a lot better without that 0-for-6 mark in the shootout. But the standings care not for excuses, legitimate or not.

PS — get a load of Detroit’s schedule post-Winter Classic:

Gulp.

Saturday: New Jersey at Washington (7 p.m. ET)

Per Extra Skater, here are the top eight teams in the NHL in terms of Corsi (five on five, score close):

One of these things is not like the others,One of these things just doesn’t belong…

How can the Devils be such a good possession team (say the stats) and have such a mediocre record? Because it was the same story last season when they missed the playoffs. One theory says the Devils shoot the puck whenever they possibly can, a tendency that, theoretically, would make the data a less effective proxy for possession. (Quite possibly the nerdiest sentence I’ve ever written.) Another theory is a much simpler one: the Devils haven’t received very good goaltending compared to the rest of the league (something I wrote about earlier in the week.) Other potential theories include not being very good shooters, surrendering too many prime scoring opportunities, and being downright unlucky. (Coach Pete DeBoer subscribed to the latter theory last year.)

Saturday: Dallas at San Jose (10:30 p.m ET)

In terms of entertainment value, the Stars have to be right up near the top of the NHL. I mean, this goal they scored last night versus the Canucks…

…was a nice goal. Unfortunately, only 15,644 were in the building to see it. Maybe once the Cowboys are put out of their misery, the hockey team will get some attention in Big D.